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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22362466">A Trail of Blood</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/femmebot'>femmebot (orphan_account)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Boyz (Korea Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abuse, M/M, Unhealthy Relationships</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:36:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,083</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22362466</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/femmebot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Chanhee has left a trail of blood that takes him to the first day he told Jaehyun he loved him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Choi Chanhee | New/Lee Jaehyun | Hyunjae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Trail of Blood</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this fic was inspired by rosalía's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8kDxi2eeMs">maldición</a>. the lyrics before every section are from that song and i recommend making use of google translate if you don't speak spanish &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>Me han dicho que no hay salida<br/>
Por esta calle que voy<br/>
Me han dicho que no hay salida<br/>
Yo la tengo que encontrar<br/>
Aunque me cueste la vida<br/>
O aunque tenga que matar</i>
</p><p>“You’re on your phone all day, what do you even do on it?” Jaehyun asks, resting the book he’s reading on the table.</p><p>“‘M just talking to Younghoon,” Chanhee replies mindlessly, eyes glued to the bright phone screen.</p><p>“You talk to him a lot...” Jaehyun points out with a hint of irritation in his voice that makes the underlying insinuations in his words clear.</p><p>“I mean, he’s been my best friend since middle school, you know that,” Chanhee argues.</p><p>“Yeah, but...” Jaehyun sneaks up beside Chanhee, so silent that it startles the boy, and whispers into his ear. “It doesn’t sit well with me that you talk to him all the time.”</p><p>“He’s just my friend,” Chanhee reassures as he restlessly types on his phone. “I don’t even know why you worry.”</p><p>“I worry because I care about you and I love you,” Jaehyun presses a kiss to Chanhee’s neck, followed by his hand stroking the younger’s hip alluringly.</p><p>That’s how they always fix stuff. Sex, sex, and sex. Chanhee sighs mentally but plays along because he knows Jaehyun will get mad if he rebels for once. </p><p>Chanhee kisses him, and he swears he can taste the venom on Jaehyun’s lips.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <i>Ay, el querer<br/>
Que en un momento quisiera estar loca y no querer<br/>
Porque el querer causa pena<br/>
Pena que no tiene fin<br/>
Si el loco vive sin ella</i>
</p><p>The frames on the wall shake as Chanhee’s fragile body slams against the plasterboard. Jaehyun and Chanhee follow their routine of arguing over mundane matters, but it gets more intense than usual. </p><p>“I am my own person,” Chanhee says calmly.</p><p>“You can’t do this to me!” Jaehyun objects, clenching his fists.</p><p>“And you can’t treat me as if I was your-” Chanhee’s yell is interrupted by a strident sound and a stinging pain on the left side of his face.</p><p>Jaehyun slapped him, and Chanhee is certain that walking barefoot through the nine circles of Hell would be less painful than this. </p><p>Chanhee touches his own face, staring at the blood from his busted lip resting on his fingertips, and then at his lover. Jaehyun’s expression is contorted in both rage and incredulity.</p><p>“Oh god, Chanhee,” he cradles Chanhee’s face with his hands and pulls him into a hug. Chanhee strips himself off any sense of pride and lets himself cry, smearing Jaehyun’s white shirt with a sludge of blood, tears, and snot. “I’m so sorry, baby. I don’t know what got into me.”</p><p>Chanhee has witnessed many scenes like this one, in books and movies alike. He is very aware that the story will repeat itself, and he is even more aware that he’ll be doomed if he doesn’t get himself out of there as fast as he can.</p><p>Jaehyun stares at his tear-stained face and traces his cheek with his thumb, unleashing the butterflies Chanhee is oh-so-familiar with.</p><p>Shit. He’s already doomed.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <i>He dejado un reguero<br/>
De sangre por el suelo<br/>
He dejado un reguero<br/>
Que me lleva al primer día<br/>
Que te dije que te quiero<br/>
Para saber lo que decías</i>
</p><p>Chanhee remembers the first time he saw Jaehyun. Chanhee had just broken up with Sunwoo, his asshole of a boyfriend who cheated on him more than once, the day before; so Younghoon took him to a college party to help him forget about him. </p><p>Chanhee, known for his lack of self-control, quickly found himself throwing his entrails up in the bathroom of the second floor of the house.</p><p>“Hey, have you seen a boy with black hair and-...?” Jaehyun asked Chanhee from the threshold of the door, whose bony arms were shaking from holding the weight of his own body on the lid of the toilet. “Uh, are you okay?”</p><p>“Yes,” Chanhee choked out drunkenly, wagging his hand in the air as to dismiss him.</p><p>“You don’t look very okay,” Jaehyun refuted. </p><p>Chanhee turned around violently, face red with anger and wet from his tears. The moment he saw Jaehyun, his expression slightly softened. Chanhee thought Jaehyun was the most handsome man he had ever laid his eyes upon. </p><p>“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Jaehyun insisted, walking closer to Chanhee and kneeling down next to him.</p><p>The moment Jaehyun placed his hand on Chanhee’s back, the latter broke out in loud sobs. Jaehyun gave him a concerned look and began stroking his shoulder with his thumb.</p><p>“I wasn’t enough for Sunwoo and he fucked somebody else,” Chanhee blurted out. He gulped down arduously. “On our bed.”</p><p>“Sunwoo sounds like an absolute asshole,” Jaehyun gave him a comforting grin. “You’re very pretty.”</p><p>Chanhee turned his head to Jaehyun with a wide, dumb smile on his face, resting his forehead on the elder’s clavicle. “I don’t wanna be here. Please, get me out.”</p><p>“Uh, sure,” Jaehyun accepts. “Where do you live? My car is outside.”</p><p>Jaehyun waited for an answer, realizing Chanhee was lightly snoring and drooling all over his sweater just seconds later. He giggled fondly and gave the pink-haired boy a piggyback ride out of the house.</p><p>Jaehyun drove him to his own apartment and tucked him into his bed. The elder was quite infatuated with Chanhee’s beauty, so he lied in front of him, studying every single one of his delicate features until he fell asleep himself.</p><p>Needless to say, Chanhee was deeply confused and hysterical the following morning, asking if they had had sex countless times. The boy hesitantly accepted Jaehyun’s offer to stay for breakfast and devoured the food the elder gave him as he kept a suspicious gaze fixed on him.</p><p>Jaehyun sent him home, not before asking for his number with the excuse that he would need someone to help in case he got lost on the way back.</p><p>Not long after, they went on their first date. Jaehyun took Chanhee out for dinner at the fanciest restaurant he could afford and Chanhee told himself that he was the one.</p><p>Chanhee also remembers their first kiss vividly. He wanted it to be as saccharine as possible, so he whined and insisted until Jaehyun agreed to go on a date to the local fair. Chanhee managed to coax candy floss and several plushies out of Jaehyun and he felt as if he was living in an American rom-com as he sat adjacent to his boyfriend in a cozy cabin at the highest point of the Ferris wheel, staring at the lights of the city with his mouth agape.</p><p>“Hey,” Jaehyun lightly prodded his shoulder. “I’m here too, you know?”</p><p>“You are?” Chanhee replied in a playful manner. “You’re not as interesting as the views.”</p><p>“Awww, come on, you owe me something.” Jaehyun pointed at his lips, tapping them with his index finger.</p><p>Chanhee immediately knew what he was implying and felt his heart skip a few beats, tightly clutching the stuffed penguin in his arms.</p><p>Jaehyun turned to look at him as he tilted his head to the side and gently lifted Chanhee’s chin, parting his lips and leaning in at such a slow pace that it seemed like days to the younger. The boy felt like his face was about to melt the moment he felt Jaehyun’s thin lips on his plump ones. </p><p>It took Chanhee a few seconds to react and kiss back, too dazed by the heat of the moment and Jaehyun’s slender fingers grazing his cheek. Chanhee nibbled on his bottom lip and prompted a ravenous Jaehyun to lick into his mouth.</p><p>They began gravitating towards one another as the kiss got deeper. Chanhee was almost sitting on Jaehyun’s lap when the cabin stopped dead in its tracks and nearly threw the boy out of his seat, the inertia stopped by his boyfriend’s tight grip on his waist.</p><p>“You saved me once again,” Chanhee giggled, resting his forehead on Jaehyun’s shoulder.</p><p>“I’ll save you as many times as you need,” Jaehyun replied, running his hand through Chanhee’s disheveled hair. They locked their lips again in a delicate kiss, savoring each other’s skin like it was their last day on Earth. “My angel.”</p><p>Chanhee lets a few tears fall on the clothes he’s frenziedly stuffing in his bag as he remembers his most cherished moments with his soon-to-be ex-boyfriend. He’s aware that escaping is the best thing he can do; but still, he feels as if something is wrong. It’s a feeling of unutterable dread that eats him from inside out: coming to the realization that Jaehyun, the person he trusted the most, his lifeline, his true love—or so he thought—was noxious to him. He feels like he’s incomplete. </p><p>He has no idea when it all went wrong, and he wishes he could go back to the times where they were like children: immature and ready to conquer the world together. The times where Jaehyun was a beacon for him and his reason to wake up every morning. Where Jaehyun’s hugs were comparable to being wrapped in the Golden Fleece itself and his touches didn’t make Chanhee feel like a prey.</p><p>He tiptoes out of his room and stops in the hallway. Chanhee is standing before a Stygian abysm, his head throbbing as he arms himself with the strength to leave once and for all, to cleanse himself of all the poison he has blindly drunk.</p><p>“Goodbye, Jaehyun,” Chanhee whispers as he walks through the door. He brushes his fingers over the crimson red bruise on his cheek.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <i>No le temas al camino<br/>
Es como una maldición<br/>
No le temas al camino<br/>
Si la alumbro, la confirmo<br/>
Ya lo sabes, es lo que pasa<br/>
Y ninguno quiere decirlo</i>
</p><p>At first, Chanhee wanders aimlessly. The cold air biting into his limbs and face and the exhaustion of waddling through the murky streets while his thoughts torture him make him gradually lose the valor he had gathered. He feels as if a supernatural force is pulling him back to his apartment. </p><p>Following the trail of blood he left behind him would be so easy. Going back to his warm bed. Putting on a mask and act as if nothing happened. Blaming Jaehyun’s behavior on his overthinking. </p><p>A vibrating noise snaps him out of his trance. He looks around, confused, only to find out the vibration comes from his own pocket. His phone.</p><p>Chanhee pulls the device out and stares at the screen. <em>Younghoon</em>, a feeble sob breaks out of his throat as he reads the name.</p><p>“Chanhee?” the boy wails when he hears the voice.</p><p>“Hi,” Chanhee replies, managing to sound stable.</p><p>“Jaehyun called me and told me you disappeared. Said his calls wouldn’t reach you.” Younghoon explains nervously. Chanhee doesn’t reply, biting his tongue to choke a weep instead. “Are you there?”</p><p>“I got lost,” he confesses. “I don’t want to go back.”</p><p>“Can you tell me where you are? Look for street signs,” Younghoon says. Chanhee silently thanks his friend for not asking any questions about why he ran away.</p><p>“I’ll send you my location.”</p><p>Minutes later, a familiar grey car pulls up in front of Chanhee. The click of the passenger-side door unlocking startles the boy, who automatically opens it and climbs inside, basking in the heat.</p><p>Younghoon gasps in horror when he sees Chanhee’s maltreated face.</p><p>“Did he do that?” Younghoon inquires.</p><p>Chanhee remains laconic, but the elder only needs his silence as an answer. Younghoon doesn’t even ask him where he wants to go, he just drives in the opposite direction of Jaehyun’s apartment.</p><p>Chanhee stares out of the window wistfully, watching as the orange disc rises on the horizon. The first rays caress and warm his face up, and he cannot help but let a few tears spill at the realization that he’s finally free. </p><p>He feels a hand on his thigh, and he turns his head to look at it. He sees Younghoon giving him a compassionate smile before gluing his eyes to the foggy road once again.</p><p>Chanhee likes it, the warmth and weight of his friend’s hand on his leg. </p><p>He also likes the feeling of safety he gets from sitting inside the car.</p><p>He likes the feeling of freedom as he closes his eyes and wonders how much they have moved since he last opened them.</p><p>He likes letting Younghoon drive him into new halcyon days.</p>
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